Captive Brides

Several years ago I was in an art museum with the children of a family I’m friends with.

We were in the classical art section when, suddenly, the four-year old at my knee asked, “Where are those men taking those women?”

I bent down to look at the painting that was oddly hung at her eye-level (!) and realized it was a depiction of an event from early Roman history, the Abduction of the Sabine Women.

Not knowing how to break this down in a chaste way for a four-year old, I said: “Uhh . . . to have fun.”

“Okay,” she said.

Of course, there was more to it than that.

Specifically, the early Romans who participated in the abduction were engaging in a practice that was somewhat common in the ancient world, and even in some parts of the world today: obtaining a bride by capturing one.